1.

1 Stakeholder: Energy Conservationists Amish

1.1.1Introduction to Stakeholder and Stakeholders Perspectives
This section of the report shall review relevant environmental issues along with provide
mitigation strategies for those issues from an energy conservationists perspective, if the
construction of a shopping mall was to proceed. As a conservationist, paramount importance
is given to the preservation of natural resources and the protection of local biodiversity
(Flippen, 2006). When extending this onto the concept of energy conservation, it would
elaborate on the need for the preservation of fossil fuels such as coal and gas that are used
generate electricity. The relevance of this perspective is accentuated in the requirement for
an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) 1 of most contemporary construction projects (Elliot
and Thomas, 2009). Additionally, the substitution of fossil fuels to other alternative sources
of energy has been an increasing project requirement over the past decade, especially in
more developed regions such as Europe (Faaij, 2006). Consequently, Section 1.1.2 would
first describe the problem and provide recommended strategies for prevention. The
strategies would then be evaluated based on the existing literature in section 1.1.3. Based
on the literature, an appropriate strategy would be devised in 1.1.4. Lastly, the resulting
Stakeholder conclusion and recommended would be provided in 1.1.5.

1.1.2Problem description
Natural resources play an important role in the survival of living organisms.
According to (Fazlul-Haq et al., 2014), natural resources also play an
significant role in livelihood sustenance, economic stability and political
strength for most nations. Hence, the protection of natural resources would
need to be considered as highly important in order to maintain a more
sustainable future. The conservation of natural resources such as coal, oil
and gas in terms of energy consumption is an increasing problem over the
past decade. According to (IEA Statistics, 2015) 81% of the worlds energy
requirement is dependent on fossil fuel consumption. Furthermore, a project
conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Field and CB,
et al., eds, 2011) reaffirmed the fact that climate change was caused by
human interaction and the burning of fossil fuels. The report findings
recommended that fossil fuel consumption be replaced with renewable
sources of energy.
Alternatively, in some developing or underdeveloped countries, switching to
an alternate source of energy would not be a feasible option due to high
initial investment (Lotfabadi, 2015). In these cases, energy conservation
strategies would need to be evaluated. Most of these strategies consider
energy conservation from HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning)
utilization since they consume the most amount of energy (Tham, 1993).
1

EIA is a formal assessment that predicts the environmental consequences and potential risks to the environment prior to the

approval of the project. An EIA plays a characteristic role on deciding whether a project should proceed (Elliot and Thomas, 2009).

Conversely, the next section describes in detail some of these strategies in

the context of a shopping mall.

1.1.3Literature review
This section will address the main strategies for energy conservation as introduced in the
problem description section. The discussed studies will be based in the context of a
shopping mall. Based on the literature reviewed in this section, an appropriate strategy for a
shopping mall located in Dubai will be developed in section 1.1.4.
A. Energy Conservation
Energy conservation methods rely on the efficient use of HVAC systems. Several strategies
provide energy conservation such as placing HVAC operation time limitations (Turiel et al.,
1985), utilization of daylight heating (Chou and Lee, 1988) and cool-air storage (Zhio and
Baishi, 2011). However, these strategies are considered archaic and discontinued as they do
not consider thermal comfort of customers. In some Geographic locations, violation of
recommended temperature limits could negatively affect the residents. Hence, the
importance of staying within the limits of acceptable temperature while providing an HVAC
energy conservation method is accentuated.
A paper by (Fasiuddin et al., 2010) presents an energy conservation strategy for a
commercial building by providing a control scheme 2 for the climatic conditions of Saudi
Arabia while considering the thermal comfort of residents. The control scheme also provided
several time zones of strategy implementation and recommended temperature regulations.
As an example, the scheme observed the least occupied times of the building (12:00am to
6:00am) and increased the temperature to 28C, yielding an annual energy saving of 5.8%
.The cumulative energy savings of the building was observed to be at 16.7% per annum
after considering all the different schemes. However, this had been significantly close to a
thermal limit violation. A modification in the scheme to increase the comfort level zone
would adversely affect the energy savings.

B. Alternate energy sources

This method of energy conservation relies on using alternate renewable sources of energy to
fossil fuels. These sources can include those such as solar, wind and biogas among others.
The principle motive for switching to these sources is that they are able to provide energy
without the consumption of natural resources (Popescu, 2015). Consequently, several
countries are adapting to implement renewable energy as a primary source of energy (Faaij,
2006). Currently, there are many shopping malls that have implemented renewable energy
generation. The East Gate mall in Indianapolis, Indiana has been developing strategies to
cover the roof and parking lot with solar PV cell installations (McLaughlin, 2013).
2

Please refer to Appendix A to view the base model of the control scheme.

Additionally, a mall in Syracuse (Tang, 2008) has installed a renewable-energy-powered

addition that is powered by a combination of solar panels, wind turbines, biofuel and
hydroelectricity. Wind towers and solar panels are also currently in use to power Jacksonville
mall with the additional energy from solar panels being able to power the Southside mall
(Turner, 2010). The effectiveness of these renewable sources of energy is evident from the
examples provided and many more that are currently in place. However, the type of
renewable source needed is dependent on several factors such as initial cost, geographic
location and reliability of source. Therefore, an extensive study would need to be made on
the area before the option of switching to a renewable source of energy can be considered.

1.1.4Discussion
This section will analyze the information provided in the literature review section and
formulate a strategy for the construction of a shopping mall in Dubai.
Dubai receives only a few days of rainfall per annum with mostly sunshine and minimal
cloudy weather throughout the summer months (Ministry of Presidential Affairs - National
Center of Meteorology & Seismology (NCMS) - Index, n.d.). This makes the city an eligible
candidate for solar installations. However, The NCMS averages the wind speeds to estimate
at 9kmph per year. For a wind power plant, a minimum wind speed of 8kmph is required to
provide a minimal amount of power generation (Liatkher, 2014) . Hence, the combined use
of wind and solar as presented by Tang would not be a suitable option for Dubai. However,
the Eastgate mall solar installations in the parking lot and roof presented by McLaughlin
would be a better option as it relies on mostly solar energy for power generation.
The conservation strategy presented by Fasiuddin for the commercial building in Saudi
Arabia could be implemented in Dubai since based on the NCMS. This is due to the fact that
the average climatic conditions of UAE is relatively close to that of Saudi Arabia. The
implementation of this strategy could affect the thermal comfort levels of some customers
shopping at malls. A survey conducted by students from the University of Wollongong in
Dubai (UOWD) asked a group of people if they would be willing to sacrifice their thermal
comfort by allowing a slight increase in temperature occasionally. The results of the survey
are plotted in Figure 1.
Survey question: Would a slight increase in temperature during the evening bother
you while visiting a mall, knowing that energy would be conserved in the process? It
would be done by reducing the usage of the air conditioning system and using
outdoor environmental air to regulate the temperature for brief periods with
intervals.

FIGURE 1 SHOWS THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY QUESTION ASKED

20
15
Number of people 10
5
0

No

Yes

Response from individuals after being asked the question

The results of the survey shown in Figure 1 can be used to apply the HVAC control scheme
for the shopping mall construction. Since a significant population would not be affected by
the temperature change, temperature can be varied between 23C to 26C. This is slightly
different from the scheme presented by Fasiuddin who regulates the temperature up to
28C, since 22% of the people answering the survey responded with the temperature
increase causing a discomfort.

1.1.5Conclusion and Recommendations

This report conferred the construction of a shopping mall from the perspective of an energy
conservationist. The problem was first described with relevant solutions being presented in
the literature review section. The discussion then reviewed the strategies presented in the
literature review, in the context of a shopping mall in Dubai. Based on the discussion
section, the following recommendations were made for the construction of the mall,

The use of solar panels to generate electricity to power the mall.

The implementation of a HVAC control scheme to regulate the indoor temperature
between 23-26C.

These strategies can be used as a preliminary measure for energy conservation. The use of
solar panels mitigates the need of fossil fuel dependence in powering the mall. The HVAC
control scheme reduces the total energy consumption of the shopping mall. Additionally,
further research can be conducted to provide an embedded generation connection from the
shopping mall to the grid along with more energy conservation techniques.

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